Misericordia Domini (The Mercy of the Lord)

[Intro – low cello, single candle crackle] Misericordia Domini Plena est terra (Psalm 33:5) [Verse 1 – finger-picked, almost a whisper] I deserved the sword of justice I deserved the burning coal I stood naked in the courtroom With no plea to save my soul But the Judge stepped from the throne Took the sentence on His back And the wrath that should have crushed me Fell on Him instead of that [Pre-chorus – monk choir, gentle swell] Quia apud te propitiatio est Et propter legem tuam sustinui te (Psalm 130:4) [Chorus – wide, trembling with wonder] MISERICORDIA DOMINI From the rising of the sun to its setting MISERICORDIA DOMINI Every breath I take is mercy I’m not getting Slow to anger, rich in love His compassion never ends Great is Your mercy toward us Morning without end [Verse 2 – rain soft, voice cracks] Nineveh should have been ashes Jonah wanted them to burn But the King put on the sackcloth And the heart of God would turn The thief upon the cross had nothing Only moments left to live Yet one look at dying mercy And he heard “Today, forgiven” [Chorus – heavier, heartbeat drums] MISERICORDIA DOMINI From the rising of the sun to its setting MISERICORDIA DOMINI Every scar upon His hands is mercy I’m not getting He delights to show it more Than the east is from the west Great is Your mercy toward us We are not consumed (Lamentations 3:22–23) [Bridge – silence, then single voice] I do not understand it I only know it’s true The worst thing that ever happened Was the best thing He could do (Lamentations 3:22) [Final Chorus – soaring, cathedral alive] MISERICORDIA DOMINI Let the weak say “I am held” MISERICORDIA DOMINI Let the dead rise up and tell That every morning we awake Is mercy we did not earn Great is Your mercy toward us And we will never burn [Outro – soft rain fading, monk choir] Miserere nobis Miserere nobis Misericordia Domini In aeternum Amen.